Speaking the Truth in Love
The verse for this week’s study is Ephesians 4:15:
Rick Joyner has authored more than fifty books, including The Final Quest Trilogy, There Were Two Trees in the Garden, The Path, and Army of the Dawn. He is also the Founder and Executive Director of MorningStar Ministries, a multi-faceted mission organization which includes Heritage International Ministries, MorningStar University, MorningStar Fellowship of Churches and Ministries. Click here to take a look at Rick's latest Rant #ricksrants |
The verse for this week’s study is Ephesians 4:15:
As we see throughout the Scriptures, the Lord does not always speak in our native language, but most of the time He uses a spiritual language through dreams and visions, which includes symbolism. Why? Because His language is about much more than just conveying concepts—His language speaks to the heart and soul, not just the mind. This is stated by Jesus in John 6:63, “the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” It is basic to prophetic ministry to discern the spiritual purpose and nature of a message.
The church is moving toward unity like I have not seen before in my lifetime. What is happening is more than a reaction to the elections, though that may have contributed to it. The economic shaking is a factor also. Even so, just as the Apostle Paul rejoiced that the gospel was being preached regardless of what the motives were for those doing it, we can rejoice in this tremendous thrust toward unity. There is an increasing revelation that we simply cannot make it in these times without each other.
This is the day that the Lord has made—so don’t mess it up!
Really, we can mess it up or enjoy it. We can dwell in the presence of the Lord today if we choose. All we have to do is comply with the simple, easy, exhortation of Psalm 100:
As we see in the Book of Hebrews and other places in the Bible, many things in Scripture are a prophetic type of other, greater things. The Promised Land of Israel was to be a prophetic type of the establishing of the kingdom of God on earth. Joshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus, the Messiah who will return to set up His kingdom on the earth. If we are to understand this rightly, we must begin by understanding that no prophetic type is a perfect model of what is to come, but is a "shadow." The shadow is usually just the barest hint of what it is a shadow of.
As The Great Commission specifies that disciples are taught “all that He has commanded,” we must understand there are New Testament commandments. They are simple and basic, but they are commandments nonetheless. The most basic commandment the Lord gave us is recorded in John 13:34-35:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
The following are some of the most common questions we continue to receive concerning Todd Bentley’s restoration. It is my intent to be as straightforward and comprehensive as possible. However, some of the answers may be a little lengthy, so you may want to skip over the ones that are not important to you personally. Thank you again for the great interest and the many helpful comments and questions that you have sent concerning this issue. I pray this will be helpful to you. RJ.
A biblical worldview begins with knowing God, and God is love. Our highest purpose as human beings is to love God above all else, which is the easiest thing for us to do because we were made for this. Since God is love, we cannot see Him or learn anything about Him without loving Him more. This must be our chief pursuit and the most basic paradigm through which we see the world. It is also the path to the most wonderful, fulfilling life possible.
The passing of Pope John Paul II is a major event because we have all lost one of the most remarkable leaders of our time. I am not a papist and do not believe that any man on earth should be called “the head of the church,” which is the rightful place of Christ alone. However, I do not doubt that John Paul II was a man of God that all Christians should be thankful for and should rightly mourn.